Child of the Paths
by RahvinsCage
Summary: When Naruto has everything taken from him, how will his path change? Will he become stronger, or will he fall upon a dark trail? He will meet people that mean everything to him, but will they be lost too? RinneganNaruto, StrongNaruto, NarutoXOC, PossibleDarkNaruto.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

**Okay, so I'm reposting this as one single chapter. I know it's kinda stupid and pointless, but I figured why not. Just getting started on the next chapter after this long, so I decided to commemorate it with this! So, without further ado, on with the story!**

**Oh, and I don't own Naruto (no matter how many times I cry myself to sleep at night).**

* * *

Running. It was all he could remember. Running for hours, but it felt like days.

Every corner he turned, there would be more of them. More people waiting to slit his throat. Some had already, but he didn't die. He never did.

They didn't know, didn't understand what it was like to be him. The boy they all hated, but the boy that loved them all. No matter what they did to him, he would always protect the villagers. His villagers.

The villagers of Konohagakure.

He could remember every waking moment of his life. Every insult hurled at him, every stone thrown at him, and each glare cast his way. But as much as he loved them, he always wondered why. Why would they do this to him? Why was it that every day, of every year they would hound him? He didn't know why. Most of them didn't even know why. It was a tradition at this point. But this was no ordinary day.

It was his birthday.

But to the village, it was the annual Fox Hunting Day. It was like they reveled in his pain, his misery. There were more things that happened to him on this day though. Stranger things, if there could be such a thing.

The voice got louder, stronger and more hateful.

He turned another corner, where he slammed into a big, middle-aged man and fell down.

The man gave a sadistic smirk, and looked at the boy with so much malice he could feel it in his bones.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the boy pulled out a kunai and tried to look menacing. In response to this, the man gave a hateful, almost insane, laugh and punched the boy in the head, cracking his skull and knocking him unconscious.

* * *

When he came to, he was tied to a post and, while this was nothing new, he became afraid. He was afraid that he would never get to realize his dream of becoming Hokage. To him, this thought was new, and it was terrifying. But it also brought up a lot of sadness in him. Sadness not for himself, but for his Jiji, and for the owner of the ramen stand where he felt truly at home.

That was when he noticed it. The real reason he was afraid.

Teuchi was tied beside him, along with his daughter Ayame.

He closed his eyes and cried. Cried as much as he ever had in his life, and as much as he ever would. The people he loved, the people who treated him like family, were being beaten and tortured like he was.

He forced his eyes open, and looked at the crowd with teary eyes that were full of hatred. He stared at the crowd as a man ripped open Ayame's shirt, and started groping her. He stared at the crowd as a Shinobi pulled out a kunai and slid it across Teuchi's neck. He stared at the crowd as the man forced himself upon Ayame. And he stared at the crowd as he strangled her to death.

With each passing moment, he felt hatred bubbling up from somewhere deep inside him. He focused all of this hatred into his glare, which had become blood red instead of his usual cerulean blue.

He kept staring until his eyes started to hurt. Then they started to burn. Then they felt like they were on fire, and he started to scream. He screamed so loudly that birds flew out of the trees. He kept getting louder and higher, until he could barely be heard, yet the crowd knew he was still screaming. Their ears started to bleed, and that was when the boy formed the first words any of them had heard aside from the typical shout of "I'm going to be Hokage one day, believe it!"

"Shinra Tensei!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, and the world around him exploded.

* * *

"Shinra Tensei!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, and the world around him exploded.

People were flung everywhere, Teuchi and Ayame among them.

And with that, the boy passed out.

* * *

After about ten minutes, the boy regained consciousness. Sitting up, he realized that his bonds were broken, and he could move freely again.

A sharp pain lanced through his eyes, and this brought back the memories of the death of his foster-family.

He started to cry again, but this time it was slower. It wasn't for the loss of his family, it was for the loss of his village. After the death he caused, he knew he could never return. He had killed the villagers he promised to protect. He was a murderer, and a monster like they always said.

**"Kukuku."** A deep, dark voice chuckled in his head. **"It seems like you've really done it this time."**

"Shut up!" He shouted in defiance, clutching his head.

**"You know better than to command me, whelp! Now kneel, and worship a being far greater than you could ever hope to become!"**

"No, I'll never listen to you! If I do, I'll be no better than they say I am. I'll be a worthless waste of space."

**"Boy, what you've done here just serves to prove that you already are."**

"I'm not. I'm not I'm not I'm NOT!"

An explosion of malice, in the form of chakra burst forth from the boy.

* * *

From his office, the Sandaime Hokage could feel the wave of tainted chakra, right before he felt the shockwave.

* * *

People all around the village felt it. First, a wave of dark energy, then a shockwave that shattered windows and threw people to the ground.

* * *

At the center of this burst, a young boy lay curled in the fetal position, surrounded by bodies.

Slowly sitting up, the boy's breaths were laboured. It was as if he had gone through every Fox Hunt at once, and then some.

Looking around, he finally registered the bodies, and recalled what he did and his brief encounter with his own personal demon.

Standing up, he wondered what he would do. Should he stay in the village and stand trial, or should he flee and live until the ANBU Shinobi catch him and kill him?

Deciding on the latter, he started making his way through the mass of corpses, when a hand grabbed his leg.

"What… What are you?" The dying man asked.

"I'm… Naruto Uzumaki."

With that, the hand dropped and the boy started running.

It was like before, but this time he had a destination. Away. Far, far away where he couldn't hurt anyone ever again.

It took him about twenty minutes, but he finally reached the north gates. They were open, and the guards were missing for some reason. Putting two and two together, he realized that they were looking for the source of the chakra explosion.

But as the saying goes, he chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and ran through the gates as fast as he could.

* * *

It felt like it was hours since he had run through the gates of Konoha, when in reality it was only an hour and a half.

He soon came upon a fork in the road, where a sign pointed to two villages. Kou (Happiness) and Shinru (Truth).

Never having heard of the villages, he almost took the road to Kou, figuring it was an omen, but he suddenly felt compelled to go down the road to Shinru. It was like a light was shining, but just at the point where it wasn't visible.

Shuddering from sudden excitement, he took a step down the path to Shinru Village, and abruptly passed out from chakra exhaustion.

* * *

He soon came to, once again, in a soft warm bed. The area around him smelled like some kind of stew, and there was a sense of rightness.

Curling deeper into the bed, he slowly came into contact with someone.

Figuring all was as it should be, Naruto groggily wrapped an arm around the person next to him.

After a few moments like this, his eyes shot open and he dove out of the bed.

Looking around him, Naruto noticed that he was in a rather small, albeit cozy, house. There were two adults at the table, and a person in the bed. A girl, about his age, with dark red hair and sparkling purple eyes.

Eyes that were full of rage.

The air in the room suddenly got colder, and it was as if the Shinigami appeared behind the angry girl.

The adults were between the two children within moments, desperately trying to keep the girl from tearing out Naruto's throat.

"Get that monster away from-" He said before cutting off.

All of the others stopped, as he sat down, curled up, and started to weep.

"What's wrong?" The girl asked him. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised! I didn't mean to scare you."

"I-It's not that." He said slowly forcing the words between sobs.

"Then what is it?" The man, obviously the girl's father if his red hair was anything to go by, asked.

"It's just that… I'm the monster. Not her." He said in a vulnerable voice.

The girl teared up at that. "It's alright, I don't really mind. You didn't do anything wrong, I swear!"

After calming Naruto down, the family sat down to eat, but Naruto just decided to lay down, and try and sleep. After the parents had gone to their beds, the girl with fiery hair crawled into the bed with Naruto.

"Hey." She said, simply.

"Hi." Naruto mumbled.

"What's your name?" She asked curiously.

"Naruto. You?"

"I'm Shizuna," She said brightly, "and we'll be sharing a bed!"

"Oh. Okay. Well goodnight, I guess."

"Okay, I'll bite." She said. "What's your deal?"

"My deal?"

"Yeah, you know. What's your problem? Why are you so depressing?"

"Because… I'm a monster." He whispered sadly. "And it's not safe to be near me."

"You don't look like a monster to me. You look like any other person." She said, trying to cheer him up without knowing how.

Turning to face her, he stared deep into her eyes.

"You'll never understand" He said, after a few moments of gazing.

"Hmph. Try me." She said defiantly.

"I'm.." His voice stuck in his throat.

"What is it?"

"I'm a murderer."

She gasped, and backed out of the bed, only to thump onto the floor.

"Wh-What do you mean a murderer? You're only a kid, you couldn't kill someone!"

"You're right, I didn't kill one person. I killed a lot."

"Mom, dad! Wake up!" She shouted, scrambling towards her parent's bed.

"Hm? What is it hunny?" Her mother asked.

"He-He's a killer! He said so himself!"

"Now now child, don't fall for such stupid stories. He was probably trying to seem cool, or mysterious, or something to impress you."

"No, it's true ma'am. I am a killer."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're taking the lie too far now. You've scared my daughter, and you're worrying me! Hush yourself and sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning." The father said, sitting up.

"A-Alright sir. I'm sorry. You go to bed Shizuna, I need to go for a walk."

He quietly slipped out of the house, and saw that he was in a village.

"Hm, must be Shinru." He thought to himself.

* * *

He soon found a path that lead to a small clearing, where he sat down and meditated just like his Jiji had taught him.

He could feel the world around him. He could hear the trees, smell the night flowers, and practically taste the woodsmoke that was thick in the air.

At that thought, his eyes shot open, and he realized that he had been like that for a few hours, since it was almost dawn.

He could see the smoke starting to rise thickly into the air, and he began to hear screams and cries for mercy.

He stood up, and began to run to Shizuna's house.

Only he was too late.

Bandits threw her and her family onto the ground outside, and mercilessly cut her father's throat.

They then began to stab her mother, who was crying to all the gods to save her daughter.

Running as fast as he could, Naruto soon stood behind the bandit holding Shizuna.

Picking up a stray kunai from the ground, he aimed it at the man holding her.

He threw the kunai for all he was worth, and was rewarded by a wet, sickening crunch as the man fell limp, the knife sticking out of the back of his head.

Shizuna crashed to the ground, and turned to look at Naruto.

Running to him, she grabbed on to his shirt and sobbed.

"Shizuna," He said softly, "now is not the time for tears. Be strong for them, and we can make it through this.

He raised his arm, and a dark orange rod protruded from the palm of his hand.

"Banshou Ten'in." He said, and the man stabbing Shizuna's mother came flying towards them at an alarming rate, and became impaled upon the chakra rod.

* * *

**So, this was the compiled two chapters. How'd you guys like it? Let me know in reviews, or PM me ideas and stuff. Anything and everything is welcome and taken into consideration, so just give 'er.**

**Anyway, like I said I'm starting the next chapter (now the second one), so it should be up in a few hours. I'm gonna try and dedicate my time and energy to writing, yay!**

**Soooo yeah. Until next time, this has been Rahvin's Cage ^_^ And now I bid you adieu.**


	2. Chapter 2: Training, Through and Through

**Well, here it is already. I kinda rushed through this chapter, so it's not really long. But hey, you can't blame me! I did this at one in the morning, so you had better feel loved.**

**Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy, but I'm too tired to write something clever.**

**So yeah, I don't own Naruto. Sue me. Actually, don't sue me. Credits go to Kishimoto, as begrudgingly as I give them...**

* * *

"Banshou Ten'in." He said, and the man stabbing Shizuna's mother came flying towards them at an alarming rate, and became impaled upon the chakra rod.

* * *

Feeling the weight at his palm, Naruto pushed his hand down and retracted the rod. It took him moments to realise that he was quickly being surrounded, and that he would need to act fast before he and Shizuna were both killed.

Thinking faster than anyone would believe, he wrapped Shizuna in his chakra and said, "Shinra Tensei!"

The explosion wrecked the surroundings, and people were flung everywhere.

Strengthening his muscles with chakra, he took to what few tree were left surrounding the blast site, and made a hasty escape.

Running madly, he dodged and weaved through trees, carrying Shizuna and expecting a hail of shuriken or kunai at any moment. After about fifteen minutes he realised that the rain of death was not coming after the pair, he slowed to a halt on a high branch.

"Th-They're dead! All of them… D-Dead." Shizuna said, as she once again began to weep.

Holding her close, he waited for her to calm down. When she finally did, he spoke.

"Look Shizuna, I know exactly how you were feeling. Before your family found me… Before you found me I had lost the only family I ever had. It was horrible. They died, just because of me. Because I'm a monster. Now, I understand if you want me to leave, and I will. I just murdered those people too, just like the one's who took my precious people from me. So if you want me to leave, tell me. Tell me, and I'll put you back on the ground and we can go our separate ways."

She looked up fiercely, and slapped him across the face.

"Don't say that! You can't be a monster, you saved me! You don't even know anything about me, but you saved me anyway. That's what matters. My family… My mom and dad are gone. There's nothing that can change that. So shut up. We need to find somewhere safe. Those bandits were obviously just that, bandits. The weren't Nuke-Nin, so we should be fine."

"Shizuna…" He mumbled. "I killed them though. Does that not mean anything?"

"You're a ninja, just like my father was before he met my mother! I… I overreacted. I'm sorry for what I said. I just didn't expect that. But the bandits, they wanted this from me."

She pulled out a ninja headband from beneath her jacket. It was simple, red with a Hitai-Ate that was adorned by a large swirl.

"My dad told me stories about his village, and about his family. He lived in a Hidden Village known as Uzushiogakure. And he had a sister, she had the same red hair as him, but she had deep violet eyes like mine. I always wanted to meet her, but he said she had been taken away just before the village was destroyed."

Naruto just gawked at this. "What? Why are you showing me this? Why are you telling me this stuff?"

She just smacked him upside the head. "Because, baka, I felt like it."

"Oh…" He trailed off.

"So. Are we going to get down from here, or are we going to spend the day up in this tree?"

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto said "Oh, yeah! I totally forgot, ya know!"

Picking Shizuna up, he leapt from branch to branch, not faltering once.

"You know, the other kids at the academy would be surprised that I was doing this, but ever since my eyes changed things just seem to come naturally to me. It's kinda weird like that."

"Yeah," She replied, "Your eyes are pretty neat looking."

When he reached the ground, Naruto let Shizuna down and they stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"So… What are we gonna do now?" Naruto asked.

"Um…" She replied dumbly. "We came from that way?" She pointed down the dirt road they were on. And Naruto nodded. "Then I guess we go this way!" She said, as she started to walk in the oposite direction.

Shaking his head, Naruto could do nothing but catch up with her and walk.

* * *

After a few hours, Naruto began to get hungry.

"-And that's when my dad really got into trouble with my mom, and she-" Shizuna was cut off from her rant by a loud growling.

Letting out a girlish "Eek!" she hid behind Naruto, who for some reason was blushing.

"Don't, ah… Don't Worry Shizuna-Nee-Chan." He mumbled "That was only my stomach…"

"Oh thank goodness, I was afraid that maybe-" She stopped talking.

"Uh, Shizuna-Nee-Chan? What's wrong?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Since when… Am I your DAMN SISTER?!" She shouted.

Birds flew away, knowing that a very comical, but still horrifying, beating was about to take place.

Screaming apologies at the top of his lungs, Naruto endured the most painful beating he had felt in his life.

Walking away like nothing had just happened, Shizuna asked sweetly "Are you coming, Naruto-Nii-San?"

Paling, the boy nodded and caught up with her. He knew that they would have a talk about that later.

* * *

After hunting for some food quickly, Naruto decided to build a makeshift camp and a fire to cook the few rabbits he had caught.

Later that night, after eating then chatting for a few hours, Shizuna decided to "hit the hay" as she called it.

Feeling as awake as he had been when he had gotten up that day, Naruto just decided to meditate for a while as a way of keeping watch.

As he got into position to meditate, he closed his mind and something strange happened.

He could see everything around him. He could see Shizuna, already sleeping soundly, he could see the dying fire he had made, and he could even see himself.

He and Shizuna were surrounded by a light blue aura, which Naruto could not quite puzzle out what it was. Putting two and two together after a few minutes of thought, Naruto realised that it must be chakra. But the strangest thing of all was everything surrounding them. It was bathed in a soft green light.

Looking closer, Naruto noticed that he could see even the small creatures just outside of his camp, sitting and watching him. He disconnectedly noted that there were even some wolves sitting beside rabbits and foxes.

_'Strange,'_ He thought, _'shouldn't those wolves be eating those rabbits?'_

He then noticed something even stranger. He saw within himself, five soft colours swirling about themselves. There was red, blue, green, brown, and yellow. Every so often, they would mix together in certain places creating different colours. Some were an icy-blue, some a bright orange, and some even a light grey.

Adding this to the list of things he would need to think about later, Naruto noticed that time had already swiftly passed by, as Shizuna was starting to wake up.

"Hn? Naruto? How long have you been up?" She asked groggily.

"Oh, only a few minutes." He lied, opening his eyes.

Sitting up, she slowly took note of the creatures surrounding them.

"Look Naruto, a few rabbits came to. Say. Hello…"

"OH GOD IT'S A WOLF, KILL IT NARUTO KILL IT!"

"C-Calm down Shizuna-Nee-Chan! They aren't doing anything, they're just sitting there!"

As he was speaking though, the largest of the wolves stood up and began walking slowly over towards him.

Shizuna quickly jumped behind Naruto, once again, for protection.

As the wolf neared though, Naruto didn't react at all. The wolf just got a few inches away from Naruto, and did what could only be taken as a bow.

**"I see that a new Sage has been chosen. We have come to greet you, and welcome you to the world, New-Sage."** The wolf said in a low, but almost glad, tone.

"Th-The wolf is talking!" Shizuna shouted, starting to really get tripped out.

"That's… Good to know. But what do you mean by Sage, Wolf-San?" Naruto asked tentatively, feeling the need for formalities for once.

**"New-Sage-Sama, there is no need for you to refer to us with such formality."** Naruto just sweat-dropped at being called "lord", inwardly annoyed that the wolf ignored his question.

**"I, am Fenrir. You may call me whatever you wish though, as names do not have the same meaning to us wood creatures as it does to you Ningen."**

The wolf now identified as Fenrir stood up and backed away a few feet.

**"There are many in this world who would do you ill, New-Sage-Sama. We are here to prevent this, and to train you and your kinswoman."**

"Train us? What do you mean, 'train us'?" Naruto asked skeptically.

**"What I mean, is to teach you first how to manipulate the five basic elements, then to mould them together to create something new."**

This being too much to take in, Shizuna fainted.

"Sh-Shizuna-Nee-Chan? Are you okay?" Naruto asked, frantically shaking the girl.

**"She'll be fine, she just overloaded."** A small orange frog said. **"Oh, by the way I'm Gamakichi! I'm here to let you know that the Toads of Mount Myoboku give you express permission to Summon us at will!"**

Other small animals took that moment to speak up as well, some of which including a snake, a snail, a monkey, an eagle, a salamander, and a Ninken (Ninja Hound). They all voiced their agreement to Summoning.

"Uh… Thanks? I guess. But I don't know what you mean by Summon. Is that some kind of Jutsu or something?"

**"Of course it is, you big dummy!"** The toad known as Gamakichi said. **"But that can wait for later. How old are you, anyway?"**

"Oh, I'm ten. I… I recently left the academy in Konoha."

"**You're from Konoha? Oh, Ero-Sennin is gonna like to hear that, but it can wait until he summons me."**

Coming to, Shizuna said "Fenrir-San, you said something about training us? Can, uh.. Can we start that soon please? I'd like to be able to take care of myself when Naruto-Nii-San is away."

**"We shall begin immediately."** The wolf said with a large, almost sadistic, grin on it's face.

* * *

_Two years later_

A young blonde and his red-head "sister" were in a clearing, many miles away from any sign of people. The blonde boy turned to his surrogate-sister and smiled.

"Okay, so I finally have Earth Release down! What about you, Shizuna-Nee-Chan?" A the blonde asked triumphantly.

His red-headed companion just grunted in frustration.

"I don't know how this comes so damn easy to you! I just can get Suiton down!" She yelled in anger.

"It has to be my eyes. Nothing was ever this easy before I got them way back." He said.

"Yeah yeah, it always comes down to your stupid eyes Naruto!" Shizuna muttered angrily.

"Well it's not my fault you don't have them, now is it?" He said sticking his tongue out.

"I'll never get my third element finished." The girl said, weeping anime tears.

"Yes you will! You're almost there, I can see it!"

"Whatever." The girl mumbled.

"Well, I know you will. Anyway, I'm going to go tell Fenrir-Sensei that I finally have my fifth element down! I wonder what he'll teach me next? I hope he finally gives me some cool Jutsu!"

And with that, he left the girl to her frustrating attempts to master Water Release. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she shouted excitedly.

Within moments, water was flying all around the clearing, coming up from the ground.

* * *

**There you guys go! This has been chapter two! As always, review or PM me any thoughts and ideas you had about or for the story. If you can't see where I'm going with this, you will soon enough. I just want to get some of this over and done with so I can write the Wave Mission Arc. I feel like once I get that done, I'll be able to really commit to this. So that is my goal. ^_^ See you guys next time! Hope you all enjoyed the show.**


	3. Chapter 3: Another Adventure

**A.N./Disclaimer: So, here it is already. I spent a little more time on this chapter, hoping to get more than two thousand words in. I think that (with the disclaimer and the outro thing) that I did it. But if not, oh well. As you can see, I'm obviously dragging this out as much as I can to try and make it take space. So, in this chapter there'll be some interesting developments, and I hope that they're at least a little bit believable. At the end of this (and I'm going to make this a constant thing) I will respond to reviews. I plan on packing a lot of filler stuff into the next few chapters, but that'll set up the rest of the story. It's hopefully going to be a long running thing, with some themes from other Fan-Fics that I've read. So hopefully they'll work well together, and hopefully nobody gets mad. *Dodges a hail of shuriken and kunai from other writers* Guys, I'll give credit where it's due, I promise!**

**Anyway, on with the show!**

* * *

"Well, I know you will. Anyway, I'm going to go tell Fenrir-Sensei that I finally have my fifth element down! I wonder what he'll teach me next? I hope he finally gives me some cool Jutsu!"

And with that, he left the girl to her frustrating attempts to master Water Release. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she shouted excitedly.

Within moments, water was flying all around the clearing, coming up from the ground.

* * *

_With Naruto_

Jogging lightly, Naruto quickly reached the clearing where his animal teacher was waiting. Approaching, he noticed the proud look in Fenrir's eyes.

**"So, Naruto. Have you finally mastered Doton?"** The large wolf asked.

"I sure have Fenrir-Sensei! It's so cool! I can do the rock crushing exercise in under five seconds, and I can reform it in under ten!" The boy replied excitedly.

**"Good, New-Sage-Sama. Now, on to your next task. I believe that it is time to begin training your Rinnegan, and try to unlock some more of it's secrets."**

"That's so cool! What do you want me to try first? Do you want me to try and control people, or make things explode, or-"

**"You will be meditating."**

Naruto sweat-dropped at this.

"What do you mean meditate? I do that all the time! Fenrir-Sensei, you've got to let me do something cool!"

**"If you would let me finish, you would find what you will be doing cool. There is a grove in this forest. It is a place as ancient as your eyes. This grove is attuned to the spirit of the man who originally possessed the same eyes as you, the Sage of Six Paths, or Rikuduo Sennin."**

"So… I'm going to talk to a dead guy?" Naruto asked lamely.

The wolf came close to snapping, as he had many times in the past two years.

**"The Rikuduo Sennin is not just 'some dead guy'. He is the father of all shinobi, and the creator of Jutsu. He was quite possibly the most powerful shinobi to have ever lived, and you must try and surpass him. This world is swiftly hurtling towards chaos, and the Elemental nations will likely be powerless to stop it without a properly prepared Sage. Today you take your first steps on the path to becoming the next Sage of Six Paths."**

Hearing this, Naruto became full to bursting with excitement. He was going to meet the man who truly was everything he aspired to be. Compassionate, powerful, and the strongest shinobi to ever live.

"I-I can't believe this! I get to meet him? What's he like? What does he look like? Take me there, please!"

**"Cub, I cannot take you there. You must find this grove yourself. But believe me, you will inevitably be drawn there, for your eyes are his. I am sure that he will be very eager to meet you, and to teach you how to use your gifts."**

Nodding, Naruto decided to heed the pull on his eyes. Turning, he left down a path that nobody could follow, not even the strongest shinobi in the past century Hashirama Senju. This was truly the beginning of his story, just as much as the death of his "family" was.

"Well Fenrir-Sensei, I guess I'll see you in a while."

Donning his headband, Naruto left his teacher behind, in more ways than he could think.

* * *

_Half an Hour Later - In a Dark Grove_

As he entered the grove, Naruto felt the pull on his eyes, and his very soul, strengthen tenfold. 'Hm, this must be the place' He thought. 'I guess I may as well start now.'

He then sat in the middle of the grove, and began to meditate. Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, he was transported to a realm of pure whiteness. He jumped as he heard the sound of a person clearing their throat. Turning around, he came face-to-face with a young man with hair almost like his, but instead of blonde it was white and more tame.

Scratching his head, the young man looked moderately embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just didn't expect to see my descendant so soon! I figured I could relax for a little while longer."

"Your descendant? What do you mean? I'm here to meet the Sage of Six Paths, not some guy barely older than I am!" Naruto exclaimed angrily.

A tick mark formed on the young man, framing his rippled violet eyes.

"H-Holy shit. You're… Y-You're him! You're the Rikuduo Sennin!"

"Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki at your service!" He said, striking a strange pose with one fist on his hip and his other hand pointing in the air. "Sage of Six Paths, and Jutsu Specialist!"

Face-faulting, Naruto just chuckled at the antics of his ancestor.

"Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me that you're thousands of years old, but you look like you're only seventeen or eighteen?"

"That's exactly right, young Naruto Uzumaki. You see, I never really aged after I got this old. It's hard to explain, but being the host of a massive chakra construct, you have some decent longevity."

"Okay." He said, not really understanding at all.

"I take it you're here to learn from me, finally?" Hagoromo asked.

"I.. There. Yeah!"

"Wonderful." He declared with a smile not unlike Naruto's trademark. "Follow me!" He said, giving Naruto a thumbs up. He then started to walk along the white expanse of nothingness.

Following, Naruto had no idea what to think. He was going to learn things he had never even thought of before. Things he would never imagine to be possible.

The pair then came to a door in the whiteness, which was essentially a handle in the air. Opening the door, Hagoromo gestured inside for Naruto to enter. As he did, he noticed that the space was a sort of flecked yellow. (A.N. Picture the space where Naruto and Minato had their chat.) Inside, there were two chairs, and a table with a pot of tea steaming.

"Sit down, it doesn't matter which chair you pick. And you might not want to have some of the tea, it's been brewing for a few centuries. It might be a little bit strong. But anyway, now that you're here, I guess I may as well give you the rundown of what's going to happen. You'll be spending what will feel like a few months here. In reality, it'll only be a few days. I'm going to teach you as much about those eyes as I can, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a lot. They are mine, after all. So yeah, it'll definitely be interesting!"

"Okay." He said again. "This is a lot to take in. So, where do we start?"

Sitting down, Hagoromo gestured at the chair beside him.

"Well first I'm going to give you my knowledge of the Paths. Then we'll see from there! Now sit down!"

"Y-Yes sir!" Naruto said sitting down.

"Lean forward and close your eyes."

Doing so, Naruto placed his trust in this man. He then suddenly felt the man's hand grab his forehead, and a surge of chakra and knowledge flooded into him.

Collapsing into his chair, Naruto suddenly felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He knew everything about his eyes. All the secrets, all the possibilities. He felt as though there was nothing he couldn't do.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but that was the easiest way. This way, it'll only take those few days in the real world instead of much longer. Do you even know how long it took me to develop all those techniques? A long time. But now that you actually know them, you can start trying to master them. Don't worry about chakra control, because even though you have massive reserves your Preta Path should help you control it. It'll automatically filter any excess amounts of chakra."

"Th-Thanks I guess. But shouldn't I start trying to master this?" Naruto asked wearily.

"Oh yeah! I guess that's a good point. So let's get started, up and at 'em!"

Groaning, Naruto got up knowing he would be in for a world of Pein.

* * *

_Three Days Later - Real World_

Opening his eyes, Naruto stood up to stretch his stiff limbs. While he was moving in his Mindscape, his body was still and that took it's toll.

Naruto decided to not waste any time and took off towards his little hut at a slow walk.

Not ten minutes later, Naruto smelled something in the air. It was soft so he couldn't quite make it out. After about twenty more minutes, he realised what the smell was. It was smoke.

With that, he broke out into a full sprint and b-lined to his hut. He arrived to a sight he hadn't expected at all. Everything was fine. All was as it should be, but he heard something in the cabin. It was laughter.

Opening the door, he saw an old man with long spiky white hair sitting at the table with Shizuna.

"Oh! Naruto, it's good that you're finally awake! This guy here says his name is Jiraiya, and that he's a Sage too!"

"Shizuna, I smelled smoke. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. I just had to spend the past three days cooking for myself, thank you very much!" At this Naruto sweat-dropped. "But hey! I'm getting a lot better! I only burned it most of the way through! And accidentally burned your orange jumpsuits…"

"WHAT?!" He exploded. "Those were my favourites! Now what am I going to wear?!"

"Actually, Gaki, I have an idea." The old man named Jiraiya said.

Glaring, Naruto turned to him. "Yeah? What's your great idea? Spending three days with a little girl? You pervert."

"No Gaki. I was going to suggest going to one of the nearby villages and purchasing some clothing. Though I suppose I should have spent some time researching while I was here."

"Researching? What could you research out here?"

"Oh, a lot more than you think." Jiraiya said cryptically. "But that's not the point. Your little friend here told me some stuff about you, but I never really caught your name. What is it?"

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, Super-Powerful Ninja and future Sage of Six Paths!"

At this Shizuna paled and gawked at Naruto. Did he just say Uzumaki? As in her father's clan Uzumaki?

"Shizuna-Nee-Chan, are you alright?" The boy asked concernedly.

"I-I have to go… Get something." She said slowly. She then walked out of the room.

"So kid, you've got the Rinnegan? That's definitely interesting. I never would have thought to meet two Rinnegan bearers in my life, let alone one."

"You know someone else who has the Rinnegan?!" The boy asked excitedly.

With this, Shizuna walked back into the room carrying a little bundle. She thrust it into Naruto's hands and said "Here. I guess this is for you."

"Wh-What do you mean for me? Is everything alright Shizuna-Nee-Chan?"

"Everything… Everything is perfect, Naruto-Nii-San. Everything is just fine." She said with a small smile.

"Alright." The blonde said, before beginning to unwrap the package. When he finished he was more than a little surprised. Inside the small bundle was Shizuna's father's ninja headband, complete with a polished Uzushiogakure Hitai-Ate.

"Sh-Shizuna! I can't take this! It belonged to your father!"

"No, Naruto. It's yours. Please accept it!"

"I refuse. Here," He said thrusting the headband at his sister-figure, "You wear it! I can make one for myself. It just wouldn't be the same if I wore it. After all, it did belong to your father."

"Naruto… Thank you. But I guess I may as well tell you. My father was part of the Uzumaki clan. That's why I have this red hair. I… I guess I never heard you say your last name. We really are related, somehow."

The man observing this just smiled at the two. It was truly heart-warming to see a display like this.

"Shizuna-Nee-Chan… I-I don't know what to say. Maybe we can talk about it another time, when we don't have a stranger in our house?"

"Y-Yeah! That sounds nice." The flabbergasted girl replied.

"So old man. What are you here for?" The blonde asked seriously.

"You." The man said simply. "I got a lead that there was some strange chakra activity in the area a few months back and decided to come check it out. I guess it was you, what? Training your Rinnegan powers?"

"No, I was learning to manipulate the elements. There's something cool that I'm able to do though. I can combine them like I have a Kekkei Genkai!"

The man gawked. "You can do what? Can you show me?" He said while inwardly thinking 'This is something the Sarutobi-Sensei should know. If Minato's kid can do something like that maybe he can replicate the Mokuton (Wood Release).'

"Well," Naruto said scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "I can't really do that yet. I haven't actually learned it."

"Well then Naruto, I'll just have to help you learn how!" The old man said.

"What? What do you mean help me? Do you have a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Nope! But I do know one that's really powerful. It's called Wood Release. You have to mix Water Release with Earth Release. But tell me kid, how's your chakra control?" He asked, a trickster-like look in his eyes.

"Uh, it's pretty good. Great even. Why?" Naruto asked confused by the man's attitude.

"There are a few exercises that you can't learn anywhere else kid, and I'm willing to teach you!"

"Really?!" Naruto shouted. "That's awesome! When can we start?"

"Right now! But we'd have to leave this little forest here, it's too gloomy and there's nothing for me to research."

"But.. But this is my home!"

"Relax Gaki, you can come back sometime. But we'll be training, so why would you want to?"

"Alright… Can Shizuna-Nee-Chan come? It would suck to not be with her."

"Naruto. We already talked about this, he and I. I'll be staying here." The aforementioned girl said. "Besides," She said before Naruto could argue, "Being a ninja isn't my place. Yeah, I've been training and stuff, but that was so you would have some competition to keep you going."

"Shizuna-Nee-Chan… Thank you. For everything." Naruto said sadly. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise! And I never go back on my word. That's my Nindo, my Ninja Way! I'll never give up, and I'll come back."

"Naruto, you're so weird sometimes." She said, laughing at the pose Naruto had struck. He had a grin plastered on his face while winking, and he was giving her a thumbs-up.

Face faulting, Naruto just smiled and walked to the door. "Well Sensei?" He asked. "Are we leaving or not?"

"Yeah yeah Gaki, we're going. Thank you for the food Miss. I'll have him back before you know it."

And with that, they left on a journey that would bring them closer together. They would discover many things on that adventure, some of which they wouldn't like. But that was the price of adventure, and they would learn to live with the issues and cope, whether it was through each other's strength or by themselves.

* * *

**So, that was this chapter. I hope I wrote Jiraiya well, but if not can you guys help me out a little bit? By the way, this is the first fan-fic I've written, and the first writing project/thingy that I've ever really committed to. I hope you guys like this but if not oh well. Now, to respond to the review(s) of last chapter.**

**Shiki Ouji Sama:**

**I love it..  
But why he call shizuna Nee chan? She will be his lover and wife or not? maybe you should make naruto more evil and only warm up to shizuna.. It'll be more interesting**

**Rahvin's Cage:**

**I hope this chapter answered your questions. I planned on her being more of a sister figure (since they're both Uzumakis, no Uzumakicest). I plan on having someone later on down the road be his romantic companion. And I had also planned on having him warm up to only a few people, then be evil later on. Maybe. Nothing for sure, just what I'm considering. So I hope you like what I do.**

**Now then, as always review review review! I need to answer questions to take up space! But yeah, I hope you all liked this chapter, and if you have any thoughts or ideas, PM me or say them in the review! Until next time folks!**


	4. Important(Ish) Author's Note

Hey all. I think I'll put this story on hiatus to work on a story about Naruto inside the Leaf village, because there's more to work with for that, and less I have to make up on my own. I hope you guys understand this, and know that it's actually a kinda difficult process to write a story based on something, but have it be entirely different. Anyway, see ya in the first chapter of said other story! ~RahvinsCage 


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